Conference News: Wide Open Space-SaaS; New STAT event; SIGGRAPH CFP

Breakthrough for STAT Media: In 2021 the STAT media company will add a new event to their lineup. In addition to the Health Tech and flagship Stat Summit, the group will host the STAT Breakthrough Science Summit. This conference will debut on 12 – 14 July online. The Summit will examine new innovations in the health, medicine, and scientific discovery space, considering “how they’re being developed, adopted, and paid for.” They will also share some of the breakthroughs that haven’t made it to market, “but have the potential to redefine health and medicine in the years to come.”

Wide Open Space-SaaS: As restrictions ease, SaaStr Annual is planning a hybrid event at a to-be-named venue in the SF Bay Area, 27-29 September. With safety in mind, they announced two important policies. Number one, only those who are fully vaccinated will be able to attend. Number two, the program will run 100% outdoors or open-air, including all major stages and the expo. Spread out across almost 50 acres, even the limited number of “indoor spaces” will be wide open to the fresh air. Each day of the program will focus on a specific theme for the SaaS & entrepreneurial community: Day 1 is Workshops + Masterminds (think tactical content); Day 2 will be focused on Heroes of SaaS (CEOs sharing their story of how to not only achieve, but scale quickly past Unicorn status); and day 3 is all about Money-Money-Money.

Speaking Opportunity: ISACA has launched a new event called ISACA EVOLVE. Focused on emerging technologies, the agenda will explore how blockchain, cloud, IOT, and AI topics effect and are affected by cybersecurity. The conference will be held online from 16 – 17 November and will cover practical, educational sessions on “the cutting-edge tech you may be encountering today and most certainly will encounter tomorrow.”  If you have a topic idea to share, submit it by the 11 June deadline, following the call for speakers guidelines.

Lunchtime Learning: The Society of Women Engineers is the world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. Their 2020 Women Engineering conference in November of last year became a 2-week virtual conference and career fair with a pre-conference week for SWE leadership in October. Leaders shared their experience, technical tips and best practices under the theme of Practice Curiosity, was meant to keep attendees inspired. The keynotes are now available on SWE’s YouTube channel. Hear from Laura Maxwell Senior Vice President of Supply Chain for PepsiCo Foods North America, Sundari Mitra Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the IP Engineering Group (IPG); Jennifer Rumsey President and Chief Operating Officer of Cummins Inc.; and Linda DuCharme President of Upstream Business Development Company and Upstream Integrated Solutions Company at ExxonMobil.

Coming Up Next Week: Consensus by CoinDesk will happen online again this year from 24 – 27 May, bringing together more than 10,000 attendees to explore the evolution of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. On 26 May, Forbes will assemble a dynamic roster of leaders, entrepreneurs and those who made their Under 30 Lists over the past 10 years for the Under 30 Summit Kickoff: Decade of Disruption. Some of the leaders who will take the virtual stage include the founders of MIRROR, Guild Education, FTX, Jet, Okta, and Harlem Capital. The latest Accelerate event from CDX will focus on The Great Consumer Reset, consumer engagement and experiences evolve in a post-pandemic world, when its airs online next week (26 – 27 May). Executives from advertising, media and entertainment, brands, technology, academia, and consumer research will share how they are adapting to the way consumers have modified their behaviors over the past year. Beginning on Thursday 27 May and running through Saturday, the ChangeNOW Summit will gather together investors, entrepreneurs, corporates, communities and talent from the impact ecosystem to address our most urgent global issues and accelerate synergies between them. Normally held in Paris, the virtual event agenda will cover themes such as Food & Agriculture; Ocean & Water; Clean Energy; Circularity & Packaging; Social Inclusion & Education; and Tech for Change.